The MAA undergraduate poster session 1991–2013

Abstract

We provide a historical report of the undergraduate poster session at the annual joint meetings of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America from its inception in 1991 until 2013. We also provide data on the number of undergraduates attending the joint meetings and the number giving talks. From a humble beginning in 1991 with 12 posters involving fewer than 20 students, no judges, and no prizes, the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) undergraduate poster session at the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) has grown to 304 posters representing the work of 487 students, 234 judges, and 50 prizes in 2013. The idea for the poster session came from the newly formed MAA subcommittee of the Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics (CUPM) on research by undergraduates chaired by Lester Senechal. Because of the small number of participants in 1991, there were no follow-up poster sessions in 1992 or 1993. John Greever organized the 1994 and 1995 sessions, followed by Judy Palagallo in 1996, Mario Martelli in 1997, and Palagallo again in 1998. Participation doubled in 1999 when Martelli and Aparna Higgins were organizers and doubled again in 2000 with Martelli as organizer. From 1999 until 2005 Higgins was host of the award ceremony.